Ukip fostering row: senior councillor in Rotherham accuses people of 'wading in to pass judgement'

A senior councillor in Rotherham has accused people of "wading in to pass
judgement" on the Ukip fostering row without "any real knowledge"
of the case.

The couple from near Rotherham at centre of Ukip fostering rowPhoto: GEOFF PUGH

By Steven Swinford and Sam Marsden

11:03AM GMT 27 Nov 2012

Josephine Burton, a cabinet member at Labour-run Rotherham metropolitan borough council, told a member of the public that she was "disappointed" by coverage of the case.

The parents at the centre of the row said they felt "slandered and besmirched" after social workers took three ethnic minority children from their care because they were members of the UK Independence Party.

Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, condemned the council's decision as "indefensible" over the weekend after The Daily Telegraph revealed that the children had been taken away.

The Department for Education has mounted its own investigation and officials have demanded answers to a series of questions about the case.

However, Mrs Burton told a member of the public: "It may be advisable to wait until you have a better understanding of fostering and the current legislation that surrounds it, before wading in to pass judgement.

"As a teacher you will know how frustrating and unhelpful it is when people “pronounce” about Education without any real knowledge of what happens and how it works, apart from the fact that they went to school. The Press, so far, has not reflected this situation very accurately, and that is very disappointing."

Mrs Burton yesterday defended the decision by a social services director to remove the children from the foster parents' care.

She said: "The officer that made the decision was a professional and you to rely on the judgement of that person."

The husband of the foster couple yesterday said senior officials at the council should be "considering their positions". He said: "These are people on incredible salaries who are paid to make responsible decisions but they can't do it.

"It's completely baffling that they just can't put their hands up. They say this is a complex case but we don't agree. It's very simple."

Rotherham metropolitan borough council yesterday failed to apologise to the couple and refused to release the findings of an internal report into the case.

As the row threatens to dominate this week's local election Nigel Farage, the leader of Ukip, said that Joyce Thacker, Rotherham's head of children's services, should lose her job.

Mrs Thacker, who is paid more than £130,000 a year, this weekend defended the decision to remove the children from the foster parents last week because of their "cultural and ethnic needs".

Mr Farage told BBC2's Politics Show: "I want them to be pardoned, I want the children to be returned to them and, yes, heads should roll."

The couple, who are in their fifties and have been described as "exemplary" foster parents, yesterday questioned the council's claim that the children's removal was in their best interests.

The wife said: "How can it be in their best interests to remove them at a moments notice without giving them the time to meet and get to know their new foster parents?

"The council in Rotherham is from the dark ages. It's inconsistent with how the country feels and how this country is run."

She said that one of the girls they were looking after had started calling them "Mum and Dad".

"She bumped into our grandson on the streets and said she missed him and missed us," she said.

"If the social workers or the guardians of this particular girl were to ask her if she wanted to come back we would welcome her with open arms. They had some really happy times here."

The couple were given just 20 minutes notice before the children were taken away from them.

"I was so distressed," she said. "We had to keep it together for the kids but inside we were so angry and upset. I had to go into the kitchen and take a deep breath.

Roger Stone, the council's Labour leader, said: "As we said on Saturday, membership of Ukip should not bar someone from fostering.

"We have been able to establish the facts in this case as far as is possible over the weekend, and I can confirm that the children are safe and in very good care.

"However, this remains a very complex case involving legal advice relating to the decision in question, particular features of the children's background and an external agency responsible for finding and providing the foster carers concerned."

He added: "This is a sensitive child protection case. It involves both vulnerable children and the foster carers, so the information the council is able to release publicly is limited by law.

"At all stages, however, we will seek to be as open and transparent as possible as we co-operate with the Secretary of State."